Archive for the ‘British current affairs’ Category
Many Green policies make me see red
June 3rd, 2009 by Roger Darlington
I’ll be voting Labour tomorrow as I have done in every election since I gained the right to vote 43 years ago. I feel strongly about the issue of climate change and support measures to protect the environment but, if ever I was tempted to vote for the Green Party, I would pull back because […]
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Brown’s ticking time bombs
May 31st, 2009 by Roger Darlington
As a lifelong Labour Party member, it pains me to acknowledge this, but I’ve never known Labour to be in such dire straits. Sadly the worst is yet to come because of a succession of ticking time bombs. On Thursday, parts of the UK will have local elections and the whole of the UK will […]
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Does the British political system need reform?
May 26th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Of course, it does – and, spurred by understandable outrage over MPs’ expenses, all sorts of proposals are being mooted. Today the leader of the Conservative Party David Cameron contributes a major article in the “Guardian” newspaper of all places. So I’ve taken the opportunity to up-date my essay “A Short Guide To The British […]
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A man to watch
May 18th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
He is black, he is a Conservative Member of Parliament, and he sits on his party’s Front Bench – but you’ve never heard of him. He is Adam Afriyie – Conservative MP for Windsor and Shadow Minister for Innovation, Universities and Skills. I first came across him during the last General Election campaign when I […]
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Preserving the National Minimum Wage
May 12th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
The National Minimum Wage is a real achievement of the Labour administration in the UK that has made a material difference to many low-paid workers. But some Conservatives want to freeze the current levels and others want to abolish it outright. To support the National Minimum Wage, go here.
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The scandal of fuel poverty
March 16th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
5 million households in Britain shiver through winter because their homes are so poorly insulated they cannot afford to heat them. Over 1 million older people have to choose between eating and heating. 1 in 3 older people are forced to live in only one room of their home. Britain’s homes leak twice as much […]
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Whatever happened to democratic socialism?
March 10th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
A former professor at the London School of Economics has contacted me to ask about a discussion we had when I was Special Adviser to the Home Secretary in 1977. Now I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember details of meetings which I had 32 years ago – but I have kept a […]
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What next for the British economy?
March 9th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
“Once in a generation you have an opportunity to change society in profound ways. For all the hardship and insecurity bound up in recent events, we are lucky to live in such a moment. What seemed infallible until recently – the essential credo behind the last 30 years of economic history – has crumbled, like […]
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Real Help Now
February 24th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
You probably won’t have noticed it but the British Government has just launched a new web site to explain to UK citizens what it is doing to tackle the economic recession. It’s called “Real Help Now”. The idea is said to borrow from the the wish of the Obama administration in the United States to […]
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Media scrum at Portcullis House
February 10th, 2009 by Roger Darlington
I attended a meeting at the House of Commons today and found the entrance to the building besieged by the media. The meeting – convened by the UK Internet Governance Forum – was held in Portcullis House and the strong media presence was not for us but for the bankers about to appear before the […]
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